literature: the emperor’s children

I figured that I would really start off my blog by talking about the novel that I just finished today (I may dedicate some later posts to the novels that I read earlier in the summer).

Tile: The Emperor’s Children

Author: Claire Messud

One Sentence Summary:  The story follows a group of Manhattan’s ”intellectual elite” in the early 21st century.

Feelings: I want to preface my review by letting you know that I’m a sucker for novels with various characters who face seemingly trivial struggles in their daily lives. Accordingly, I thoroughly enjoyed The Emperor’s Children. Messud expertly conjures up a host of believable characters (each complete with a boatload of flaws). While some of the characters initially seem independent of one another, it is quickly clear that they are all connected in some way.

Although the novel is often funny, I found myself preferring the poignant moments of self-reflection (which really resonated with issues that I’ve either dealt with myself or witnessed in my life). Messud questions what it means to be an adult in the eyes of your parents and often challenges the notion that you can truly distance yourself from your family/background.

Despite being over 400 pages, The Emperor’s Children was a quick read. I believe that Messud’s greatest strength lies in the creation of movement in her text; she quickly drives the reader through smaller plots which contribute to the larger framework of the novel as a whole.

Obviously, everyone is not going to like this type of novel. But if you’re interested in reading about people’s everyday lives, I would throughly recommend it.

Similar to: The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman and The Group by Mary McCarthy.

a vehicle for my creative energy

I have made a not-so-groundbreaking discovery: free time leads to boredom.

After suffering through a difficult semester at college, I just wanted to relax and not care about anything. I spent the first few weeks of my summer reading a lot of great literature, watching a wide variety of television shows, and reading almost every article on Slate. But, looking back on the beginning of my break, I feel unfulfilled.

So, as an act of desperation, I have decided to start a blog. While I’m going to outwardly blame this on Jenny (who said she wanted to stay updated on my “oh so exciting” life), I know that this blog is something that I really wanted (and probably needed to stay sane).

I’m planning on using this as a way to express how I’m feeling about the books I’m reading or the movies I’m watching. Yes, I will inevitably discuss the happenings of my life, but I’m probably going to stick mostly to art, culture, etc. Although I hope you find some enjoyment in my musings, this blog is really going to be a way for me to save myself from boredom. Let’s hope it works.